New Moon
by serenasgurl
Summary: When the Scouts betray Serena, she turns to an old childhood friend, Bruce Wayne. As Serena finds herself falling for Bruce and saving Gotham at the same time, can she rebuild her life? And can Bruce allow himself to love her?
1. Chapter 1

As Serena walked up the stairs to the Cherry Hill Temple, she smiled. Her day had been great so far. She had gotten up early because since the NegaCreeps were no longer fighting, she could get to sleep at a decent time. Mrs. Haruna had been out sick, so they did not have the English test they were supposed to, giving Serena an extra day to prepare for it. Since she had gotten to school on time, and had actually gotten her homework done the night before, the sub had found no reason for her to get detention. To put the cherry on top, after the meeting she had a date with Darien. She had gotten to the thin door and was about to pull it open when she heard Raye's sharp, cutting voice.

"Meatball Head is always late! She needs to get her head out of the clouds, 'cause I am sick of this! She's ditzy, clumsy, and a pathetic little crybaby. She trips, she falls, and she cries. She can never turn up on time for battle unless she discovers the NegaMonster or we're with her when it shows up. I think that whenever she shows up, we jack the crystal and force her to resign from the role as Princess. We'll elect a new leader once she's dealt with. What say you, Ames?

Ami thought for a moment, and then responded. "I think you're right, but I don't think we'll be able to take the crystal from her. Her grades are simply atrocious, and she never applies herself, not once. Her work is sloppy at best, and she always seems to be at the arcade when we need her. She's let others blind her from her Scout responsibilities several times. Mina, Lita, do you agree?"

"Mhmm." they nodded. Luna also agreed, giving her consent as she hung on Raye's shoulder.

Then Serena heard the end of her world. Her beloved, her prince-in-shining-armor nailed her coffin in, shattering everything Serena ever believed.

"Serena's okay, I guess, but she's a child, and always will be. I need a woman, I'm a grown man and I need to be in a mature relationship. Serena just won't be able to give that to me, Raye can. Pure and simple."

Serena fell to her knees silently, holding herself to keep from falling into a black abyss of depression. Everything was wrong now, the sun wouldn't come out after the rain, the sun in the sky wouldn't rise tomorrow morning, and she couldn't ever be loved. She could hear the Scouts planning something, but it was noise in her ears, she couldn't comprehend it. Silent tears rolled down her porcelain face, smearing the makeup she had worn just for her Darien. A dull, aching throb filled her body; each heartbeat caused her misery. Unknown to her, the Crystal the Scouts were planning to jack formed a little crack, cracking a little more with each word they said against her.

Eventually she was able to pick herself up and dust herself off. The Scouts were laughing at something, but fell silent when they saw her. She was in her Princess form, the Silver Crystal dangling from a golden chain on her neck. Something was wrong with the Crystal though, instead of its beautiful, shining radiance that it normally possessed, it was scratched and battered, with a sense of mourning surrounding it.

In an instant, the three loyal Scouts and the baby Hotaru were there, but Hotaru was older, instantaneously, her growth being sped up by the need of her Princess. She developed into the last Scout, and Serena began to speak.

"Ami," she started, "was I not your first friend when you came to Crossroads? Didn't you see that I was completely spent after each and every battle? I have to run to each battle. I live in Crossroads. Most battles are downtown. That is a ten minute drive when no one else is on the road. I make it here in five. Until Amara would pick me up and drop me off for battles, I would run both ways, usually with injuries. And forget about class the next day. I was too tired from the battle to even think about studying, or even cramming. I often found it hard to concentrate on school when all I wanted was to sleep and heal. That exhaustion caused me to be much clumsier then the normal teenage. Could you, the Scout of Intelligence, not recognize that?

"Raye, Scout of Fire," she continued, "when you had head-to-toe bruises, didn't you find it hard to pick up your feet, to study for an upcoming test? Sailor Mercury was right. Only I and my descendents can possibly use the Crystal; all others who try without explicit permission from the Crystal's current owner will die." As she rebuked her former team, the crack in the Crystal grew wider.

"Lita, Mina, why did you agree? Mina, as my cousin and my second, you should remember I never received any Scout training on the Moon. Lita, you used to be my Champion. If ever I got hurt, you collected punishment. What changed? I didn't."

"Luna, I am ashamed of you. You, who tagged along on my shoulder and saw me bandage more wounds each night, then clean up the mess each night before I could go to bed. You, who gave me advice and raised me up to be leader, and then Moon Princess without so much as a by-your-leave. You saw how I collapsed on the floor several times, never making it to bed." The break in the Crystal was now completely visible, and threatening to ruin the gem completely.

"Darien, I suppose I should have seen this coming. You never treated me quite as well as you had before the possession by Beryl, and it got worse with Queen Nehellenia. I became property to you, not a woman who had proven herself in numerous battles to be able to save those I loved and still stand. I leave you with these words: You screwed up big time, jerk. Enjoy your life; I won't be in it."

As the Moon Princess spoke, her golden aura, which had been pulsating heavily, grew dark. The Crystal finally cracked completely, the remaining jewel falling to the floor. It shattered as it hit, and Serena's powers exploded. She fainted into Amara's strong arms, and her loyal Scouts got her to the car. Once in the car, Hotaru reverted back to her previous age, and Trista held her as the car sped back to where the Outers were currently living.

They arrived at their, for a lack of a better word, mansion, and Amara lifted her Princess out of the convertible effortlessly. She forbade herself from going back to the previous events, focusing on getting her Princess into a soft, warm bed. Trista was getting Hotaru ready for bed, and then they would talk.

Amara was the first to break. "I've never seen Kitten like that. What happened to the Crystal? How could it just… break?"

"I don't know." The Guardian of Time admitted. "I never saw this… or the betrayal… something went very wrong with the Scouts."

"Whatever it is, Trista, they nearly killed Serena. Her vitals were spiking heavily during the confrontation. When she collapsed, she nearly flat-lined. If you hadn't caught her, we most likely wouldn't have a Princess."

Amara looked shocked at Michelle's words, but Trista nodded mournfully.

"Whatever happens, we must protect Serena."

Serena slowly woke up the next morning, and panicked. She remembered the farce of a Scout meeting last night…. and nothing after that. She looked around, and smiled as she saw Amara snoozing on an easy chair near her bed. The dirty blonde was snoring slightly, and had a dribble of drool hanging from her mouth. Serena sniggered, and Amara woke up.

"Wha… who's there?!? Who's there? Oh, Princess, it's just you."

"Just me, my butt. How many other Moon Princesses do you know?" Serena asked in mock indignation.

"I've known them all." Trista said as she entered the room. "I also knew all the original Goddesses, too, but that doesn't matter right now."

"Show off." Serena and Amara said in unison, and Trista laughed, causing Michelle to join the trio of Scouts.

"I see you're up, Serena. How are you holding up?" Michelle asked kindly.

"I'll… I'll be alright. It would have been much worse if you supported the other Scouts, but… I might eventually recover."

The Outers all heard what was unsaid, and without even looking at each, gave their Princess a large group hug. Amara began to tickle Serena, and Serena laughed, but it was a hollow laugh.

The next day, Serena went to her parents' house and told them that she would be visiting a friend in the States. Her parents were sad, but as she was 18, she was perfectly allowed to go. She boarded the plane and left, leaving behind a destiny, four tearful Outers, and a life she had never wanted to live in the first place. Back at the terminal, Amara turned to Michelle, who was feeding baby Hotaru.

"Where did Kitten say she was going again?"

"Her exact words were "To Gotham. To Bruce"".


	2. Chapter 2

On the plane, Serena finally let her emotions surface. Tears were in her eyes as she took the past four years of pictures out of her wallet. The little old lady beside her looked on in understanding.

"Are these your friends?" she asked gently.

"They were." Serena said mournfully, as her eyes fell on the scene in her hand. It was shortly after they'd defeated the Dead Moon Circus. Everyone was so friendly, so free then. Were those times false?

"Tell me more," comforted the old lady, "what happened?"

Serena burst forth in a flow of description, leaving out only the supernatural. Her Inners, the people she had fought side-by-side with. The people she had hung out with to the exclusion of all others. Her kindred spirits. They had betrayed her.

Serena didn't know how long she talked, but the pilot came on the PA to announce they were in Hawaii for an hour while they refueled. The passengers got off to grab something to eat, and when they got on again, the old lady asked Serena for more stories of her ex-friends. The old lady heard details that day of the past six last battles, under the impression they were school fights and gang fights that the group of friends had protected others from.

Serena smiled in spite of herself, and broke down, unable to think badly of them. The old woman saw her companion breaking down again, and decided to impart some words of wisdom she'd learned long ago, the hard way.

"Dearie," she started, "just because relationships end, it doesn't mean your world does. You just need to pick yourself up and learn from the experience. Now that you've seen traitors and phonies, you can recognize them and avoid relationships with them. Soon you'll find truer friends, who love you for you. But you'll only find them if you learn now."

Serena sniffled, taking in the kind woman's words. She had learned, and now she would restart her life. She looked to the last photo in her hand. It was of a pair of teenagers. They were laughing, both male and female, and there was ice cream on the girl's chin. The darker, older male was dripping wet with water and chasing the smaller, bright young lady. She had a glowing, carefree expression on her face, running with her golden hair flying behind her. As Serena read the note on the back, she smiled.

'To Serena, in hopes she will let me repay the favor.'

-Bruce Wayne

When she turned back to the elderly woman, she smiled, and the woman filled her in on Gotham until the pilot came over the P.A. again and said, "We are now landing in Gotham."

Bruce looked up from his magazine as it was announced that the flight from Tokyo had arrived. He looked forward to seeing Serena, to hearing her voice in person again after so many years. He would never admit it to anyone, not even Alfred, but Serena made him happy in a way no one, not even Rachel could. It puzzled him.

He gazed the crowds coming off the plain, searching, until he found the face he was looking for.

"Bruce!" cried Serena, as she wrapped her arms (and luggage) around the frame of her wealthy friend. She remained like that for a full minute, squeezing tightly.

Bruce winced as she made contact with the bruises that came from fighting supervillains and their henchmen at all hours of the night. Alfred saw this and demanded his hug, seeing Bruce's grateful smile over Serena's shoulders. Bruce rubbed his ribs.

"Miss Serena, why don't you get in the car while I get your things?" Alfred asked, taking her two bags in his hands. Bruce helped Serena into the long black stretch limo, slightly puzzled.

"Was that it?" he inquired. He had expected her to bring much, much more.

"Yes," said Serena, in not quite the cheerful tone she'd had earlier. "I wish to start new."

Just then, Serena's cell phone went off. The caller I.D. read 'Amara'. She flipped her phone open, greeting the Scout of Wind.

Bruce watched Serena as the conversation progressed. He became quickly alarmed when she suddenly turned very pale. Her tone of voice became serious as she started ordering the other person to keep everyone in Tokyo, saying that she could handle this. Her eyes widened as a Chaos was mentioned, and her serious voice became brisk then, repeating her order for everyone to stay there. She ended her phone call with a quick 'snap' and she closed her phone.

Bruce raised an eyebrow as she sighed heavily. "What was that all about?" he inquired.

Serena began to massage her temples slowly. "An old enemy's threats, a friend's overprotectiveness. My old life was madness, and somehow, I think my new life will be too."

The limo came to a stop as Alfred drove up the private lane to Wayne Manor. Alfred parked the car and opened the door for his passengers. Bruce smirked as he watched Serena's expression when she saw the Manor for the first time. It was typical of most of his guests, and was very amusing to both him and Alfred.

"Whoa."


End file.
